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New U.S. Apple factory to produce sapphire

Apple will be building a new U.S. manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona, as announced recently by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. The factory will create “at least 700 quality jobs in the first year” and will also create about 1,300 construction-related jobs. “We are proud to expand our domestic manufacturing initiative with a new facility in Arizona, creating more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction,” Apple said in a statement to Pocket-lint. “This new plant will make components for Apple products and it will run on 100 percent renewable energy from day one, as a result of the work we are doing with SRP to create green energy sources to power the facility.”

Although Apple didn’t specify the facility’s use, a separate release from GT Advanced Technologies noted the company “has entered into a multi-year supply agreement with Apple Inc. to provide sapphire material.” GT will own and operate furnaces at “an Apple factory in Arizona.” Apple will pay $578 million to GT, which GT will later reimburse to Apple. It’s noted that GT “will be subject to certain exclusivity terms during the duration of the agreement.” Apple uses sapphire in a number of products, including the iPhone 5s camera lens and Touch ID. More sapphire will be needed if Apple plans on using the Touch ID in other products moving forward, as one would reasonably expect. It’s also possible that additional Apple components could incorporate sapphire in the future, such as fully sapphire screens for iOS devices.